FAQ

Full Perms FAQs

HOW ARE THESE ANIMATIONS MADE?

– What is mocap?
Mocap or Motion capture allows us to create incredibly realistic animations. To do this we use real actors dressed in special motion capture suits. Our studio has 24 hi specification cameras that track the actors movements and record them. After capture we process this data onto a skeleton structure, clean up any rotational errors or gaps in the data and then transfer it on to the second Life avatar. The process is very expensive and time consuming but it results in very smooth and realistic animations that contain all the subtle nuances of the original actors motion.

– What is key frame animation?
Traditional animation is created through a technique called key frame animation. This involves the creator manually creating the animation in key frame animation software. This allows them to set the characters poses manually over a series of frames. The software then interpolates (fills in) the movement between the poses. This is a very cheap, quick and reasonably effective way to animate, however the animations are significantly less realistic and have a more robotic appearance.

– Where can I find out more about your studio?
Our studio website is www.awesomedog.co.uk
There is also a great video about us by Draxtor Despres.
You can watch it here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nSJpzzN4Ug

PURCHASE QUESTIONS

– Where can I purchase full perms mocap animations?
We now sell a range of full permissions motion capture animations for builders. Whilst it would normally cost thousands of dollars to hire a studio just for one
day, it is now possible for anyone in second life to access great mocap content for use in their SL builds. You can find our full perms selection on the lower floor level of our main store. This is the SLURL http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Animations/136/45/1138

– Do I need to be in an approved group to purchase them?
No we have created a license system that allows us to track valid licenses. We do not require membership to any group. If you wish to stay up to date though on new releases please feel free to join our regular Abranimations Update Group in SL. (Currently it is set to invite only to stop spammers asking for 100L to pay their rent. So please drop me (Abramelin Wolfe) a message if you would like in invite or if you prefer pay the nominal 10L joining fee.

– Can I credit you in my build?
Yes please feel free to credit us if you wish. It is always welcome!

– Can I say I am affiliated with Abranimations or Awesome Dog Studio?
No, please do not suggest or imply that you are affiliated with us in any way. We don’t mind you saying you purchase content from us or hired us etc. But we do not want to cause any confusion with our own customers or yours as to our separate identities.

– Can I have a discount if I buy a lot?
Sorry no, it would not be fair on our other customers if we start offering special discounts for individuals.

– Do you have a full perm blogger group?
No, we do not provide our full perms animations to bloggers. Please approach the creators that use our content if you wish to blog items made using out content.

– Your full perms animations seem pretty pricey, why is this?
The price of our full perms content is reflective of the license to resell them in Second Life and profit. The animations themselves are very expensive to produce. To put it in perspective, our studio equipment costs over $100,000 USD, we have monthly rental costs for our studio premises and on top of this we have costs for actor / dancer hire not to mention our own time. Needless to say the cost of development is significantly higher than regular key frame animation. A normal mocap studio day hire rate is several thousand dollars. Please be wary of full perm (and even no full perm) mocap animations in SL that seem very cheap. The chances are they may well be stolen or are being used outside of their original license terms.

LICENSE QUESTIONS

– Could you clarify what permissions I am allowed to sell the animations as?
Yes you may sell them with permissions that are not both copy and transfer.

– Can I transfer full perms animations I have purchased to my alt?
The license only permits use by a single avatar. Unless we have given express permission each avatar must purchase their own individual license to sell them. We do not object to the animations being transferred to your alternate account for personal use. Please ensure you change the permissions though before hand to save any confusion down the line should we need to check them against valid licenses. If you wish to sell the animations on an alternate account and you do not have express written permission from ourselves you will need to buy a new license.

– The license states the animations must not be sold in products below market value, what does this mean?
This is a little tricky to answer. What we define as market value really depends upon a few factors such as which animations your product uses and how integral they are to it. There is no fixed rule, it needs to be assessed in a case by case manner. Basically what we want to avoid is our content saturating the market with devalued prices. It is important for us and all of our customers who have invested in our content that its value is retained and respected. Please do not give them away in items for free (except to review bloggers) and please do not sell it for ridiculously low prices. I would recommend browsing our own store and those of other creators to decide what is reasonable. Our goal is not to restrict creators or tell them what they can charge for their items. We just want to make sure the content keeps its value. Please also keep in mind, there is unfortunately a lot of stolen content on the grid and marketplace which is often passed around for free. This does not constitute a deciding factor on ‘Market Value’. Please also bear in mind that our animations are created with motion capture. This involves very expensive equipment, a lot of time and complexity. The results are much smoother and more realistic animations than key frame animation and as a result the value of the animations should be considered more than with key framed animation.

– Can I clarify what Items I can use your animations in?
You can use them in pretty much anything as long as they are not sold individually as animations or in animation packs. They are intended to be used as component parts of your own creation.

– Do you sell you animations for use on other platforms such as open grid or 3d engines like unity and unreal?
We do not currently sell our full perm range on other platforms. We may in the future distribute them on other platforms though under separate licenses.

CUSTOM WORK

– Do you do custom work?
The RL cost is usually prohibitive for most SL residents. However we are prepared to undertake custom work for SL professionals. We cannot unfortunately offer single animations but we would be able to offer full day capture sessions. Further data cleanup and processing for Second life would be charged additionally on top of this. If you wish to discuss this further please contact us through our studio website www.awesomedog.co.uk and provide details of your project requirements and we will offer you with a quote.

– Do you take requests and suggestions?
Yes! Please feel free to drop us any suggestions or requests. We cannot promise to make everything. But we will do our best!

LICENSE AND STOLEN CONTENT

– I forgot what I bought, how do I check my licenses?
With your purchase you should have received a license checker prim. Clicking this will take you to a webpage listing your license. If you cannot find this or did not get one with your purchase please check our in world stores license checker. If you do not appear to have a license but definitely did purchase the animation from us do not worry. It may have been from before we started the license system in which case your transaction number will serve as proof of purchase. If you have any concerns please feel free to contact us.

– Do you have any resellers of full perms animations?
No, if anyone is selling our animations with full permissions they are doing so they are breaking the terms in this license. Please let us know so we can take appropriate action!

– I found an animation that is identical to yours but has a different creator?
If the creation is ‘Abramelin Wolfe’ or ‘mocap Warehouse’ then it is a legitimate copy created by us. If the creator tag reads anything else then it has been stolen using hacking software. All of our content is our unique IP and is not sold elsewhere with a license permitting its upload and use by anyone in Second life other than ourselves. If you do find a copy of our animation with a creator tag other than the two mentioned above please let us know so we can take action against it.